All I know is that I do not know anything (Socrates)

EGO – I know that I do not know

All my life I have suffered due to my ego, about which I know but I do not know. Sometimes I think that the below statement gives idea why I preferred to have my own blog. I can only wish that it is not true, though deep down I have this fear.

The people with the largest egos are the ones who’ve never even heard of ego. They don’t understand this particular aspect of themselves that takes things personally, always has to be the best and doesn’t take kindly to criticism.

The ego can be like a focal point in a lens which focuses all experiences and converge them into a single point. The ego is what allows us to say “I’m sitting in a chair” as oppose to “This large mass is on that chair”. It lets us compare our external experience with our thoughts and identity, essentially the core behind all personal experiences. The ego performs a vital role.

The ego, our sense of self or the social shell in which we have constructed is constantly being test by friends, family, and society. On the contrary, it is also always being reinforced and confirmed by friends, family and society. The idea that you have to become “someone” is the root of suffering. This belief is ingrained into every child’s brain and the child grows up with a fighting mentally of having to always “make” it in this world.

Story of Swetketu and his Ego
There is the story of Swetketu. In ancient India. Swetketu, son of great saint Uddalak, went to study in a hermitage. For twenty five years he was a student. He memorised the four Vedas by heart.

Similarly he had memorised the Six books of Philosophy and the eighteen Puranas. Not only this he by-hearted other books of religion including the Bhagwatgita and various Upanishads. He was immensely knowledgeable, a mobile book of reference, a living library.

However, this made him proud of his accomplishments. He became ego incarnate. Humility was merely a word in the dictionary for him. After completion of his education, he left the hermitage and went home. There he saw his father sitting in his humble hut. As the hut was small, one had to bend and bow his head to enter it. Swetketu’s arrogance and ego didnot consider bending and bowing, as becoming
of his learned status. So he sought the entrance to be broken and enlarged to enable him to enter the hut without having to bend or bow. His father, Rishi Uddalak knew that his son had become too proud of his bookish knowledge. The weight of all the books he had by hearted was preventing him from being humble. So, the Rishi asked
his son as to what all he had learned. Swetketu, proud of his learning, recounted that he had learned and memorished all Vedas, Upnishads, Purnas, Gita and books of philosophy. He further stated that there remained nothing more for him to learn as he had byhearted all the scriptures. He added that whatever learning the Guru had to impart, he had acquired all that. “I know everything.” On this the Rishi asked his son, whether he knew the one thing by which one knows all the Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas etc. Swetketu didnot know answer to this question and replied as such truthfully. He was sorry that despite twenty five years of intense learning he didnot know that which is the key to all learning. He was extremely sad for this lack of
knowledge. While returning after completion of his studies, he thought that he could easily impress his father with his knowledge and lord over all others in his fathers hermitage. Alas he didnot have answer to the very first question asked by his father.
As, Swetketu could not reply his father’s only question despite all his learning, he felt frustrated and left for his Guru’s hermitage. He felt that all his reading was meaningless. He told the Guru that despite his having been taught the four Vedas, eighteen Puranas, all Upnishads, the Gita etc, he was not able to answer his father’s
question. He charged his Guru that he didnot teach him answer to the father’s question, but had said that the study was complete. All his pride had come before a fall. “I have gulped all my pride” he said to the Guru.
He who knows does not speak, and he who speaks does not know; this is the travesty of knowledge. We should only keep in mind that “I know that I donot know”. This should be thought and stated with humility.

For Swetketu it was disgraceful to have accepted defeat. So he returned and told the Guru. “You did not teach me anything. You have cheated me.” The Guru said, “I know this much only. I also donot know the answer to your father’s question, I was hoping that you will sit at the feet of your father and he will teach you all that you wish to
learn. But you were proud of your knowledge and arrogant too. You forget about all your knowledge. Go home and sit at the feet of your father.

Swetketu returned home, with all humility he bent in a bow and entered his father’s hut, paid regards to his father with folded hands and accepted his folly. Then he requested his father to impart him knowledge.

The only way to gain knowledge is to approach the Guru with all humility. One should accept that he knows nothing, he is ignorant and seeking knowledge. If a pot is full upto the brim, then nothing can be added into it. But if a pot is empty, anything can be put inside it. The humility makes a person an easy acceptor of knowledge. Unless a person bends low, he cannot jump high.

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6 Responses

This is a very nice post. The sentiment beneath it has been very aptly put out there. I really like it.
Good job 🙂
i’d really appreciate if u could spare a few minutes and tell me what u feel about this –

Dear Akriti. Thank you so much for visiting the blog. I visited your blog. Its really heart touching and sends a clear message to humanity. Nice to see that some people are doing service to humanity through a blog. Your blog is very informative and nice. Thank you so much.